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Cheesy tater tots, now? Yeah yeah new year's resolutions, I got it--everyone is on a diet....blah blah blah. Homemade cheesy tater tots will make you cheat on your new diet. That's it. LOL Kidding. I'm a foodie, it's hard for me to diet, I try I do. I doubt I will ever give up my fatty fried foods and calorie dense sweet treats. Foodie for life--word! I just have to workout more and more, and then again some more.
These fabulous cheesy tater tots I made I got inspiration from Nick over at Macheesmo (love that name). I pretty much followed his recipe, but wondered why he hadn't added cheese to the potato batter. You know? So I added cheese and did a couple other things.
So if you are looking for the BEST superbowl appetizer, oh yeah this is it. Or if you really want to make something for your friends, family or sweetheart and watch them just melt with happiness, this is it! Yes, this will impress. There is no way you can eat just 5, I mean when I made these Christmas day, they were gone in 10 minutes. That friggin good. Deep fried, crispy, cheesy, gooey, salty goodness dipped in sauces baby! Can I get an amen? Food of love people, food of friggin love.

Making the tots. It should be no surprise that these guys start with potatoes.
The first step for these guys is to make mashed potatoes. Now I’m not sure how they make real tater tots. I know it’s closer to a hash brown product, but mashed potatoes are a lot easier to shape and also happen to be delicious. To start, just peel and slice your potatoes.
Boil them for 10-15 minutes in salted water until the potato pieces are fork tender. Then drain them and transfer them to a bowl.
Using a fork, mush up your potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes until they are room temperature or slightly warmer. (Beat egg, well, in a small dish before adding to mix). Then add your butter, flour, egg, and (cheese). Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Filling mixed.
To make the crunchy exterior of the tot and also give it some shape, I decided to try out two different toppings: crunched up kettle chips and Panko breadcrumbs. Both worked pretty well actually.
You cannot shape these until they are coated with the Panko crumbs. Make them into the size of a teaspoon, yes that small. Just drop a few teaspoons of mashed potatoes in your bowl of crust. Roll them around until they are coated all the way around. Then you can easily pick up each tot and shape it easily in your hand. Just roll them like you would a cookie only not as much pressure. You can try making them into a cylinder shape like Nick did. Then transfer them to a baking sheet and until ready to deep fry.
Cooking the tots. Make sure your oil is at 350 degrees before you do any type of frying. This is crucial. Once the oil reaches 350 degrees then you can start frying; do not overcrowd pan though. Unless you have a large pot you really should do semi-small batches. (I fried about 10 per batch in my 8 quart pot with about 3-4 inches of oil). They should only need about 5-7 minutes per batch. Once you scoop them out of the oil, transfer them to a paper towel and salt them immediately (I did not salt them—they really did not need it). Feel free to add whatever seasoned spices you crave. Serve with sauces--any kind would work actually. Here are a couple that I used.

I consider tater tots to be an essential part of our diet - it's what hubs and I survived on in the lean years. Making these would count as a workout in my book, justifying their cheesy goodness and total consumption. This has pretty much convinced me that deep-frying is not necessarily the work of the devil.

These do look delicious, I think I would eat them all, too. And I agree with you wholeheartedly on your "no diet, eat moderately year-round" motto. It's how I feel, too. I always have home-baked goodies around when people come over. They tend to gasp, "How do you stay so slim?" Well, I bake when I know we'll have a crowd, I give a lot away, I freeze the excess, and I work out often. Who says you can't enjoy good food all the time, as long as you're not excessive about it?

You would have loved the workout I did the other day (minus the 1 minute cardio burst intervals). I don't do diets either, but I am eating healthy with the occasional indulgence. These sound pretty good mama.

Amen! This recipe is just what I need! We're only eating real foods now (all homemade, nothing processed) and my son is missing his tots. He likes the homemade shoestring fries I make, but these will make him happy, happy, happy...

he he. We're like totally the same person. Except for the 150 abs....I can do maybe 10 sit ups. I'm not one of the January dieters (or anytime dieters for that manner) and intense exercise would call for a paramedic or two. These look so delicious. I love goodies fried in panko!

Awesome! Love the sauce with these too. I can't diet either, just watch all year round and when I get a little round I cut back on some junky things and keep the good stuff. I would keep this recipe and cut out spinach;-)

Wow homemade tater tots!! And they are cheesy?! I used to love going to Taco time and get their cheesy tots! Now that I live in CA we don't have taco time nearby but your tots look even better than theirs so I will have to try it! Thanks.

oh, I hate running too! I think my running speed is as fast as my walking speed. I'm so out of shape that I once got arm pain after baking 120 cupcakes from squeezing the icecream scoop when portioning out the batter... sooo embarassing!

about vanilla sugar blog

Unique eats, creative recipes, as simple as possible.What drives me to create? Seeing dishes in restaurants, meals created on TV, recipes in cookbooks/online, and I always think to myself why didn’t they add this or why did they leave out that? Love to question, love to research, and love to learn about combining different flavors and textures in recipes.Recipe creations please email: vanillasugarblog@aol.com